My job is "software engineer." I work with many other software engineers. Some have 1-2 years of experience. Some have 10+ or 20+. It's possible to create s

My job is "software engineer." I work with many other software engineers. Some have 1-2 years of experience. Some have 10+ or 20+. It's possible to create strata -- junior, mid-level, senior, etc. -- and say that for a particular open role, you are hiring for only mid-level engineers. But there's always going to be some wiggle room. Maybe you'll get one applicant with 3 years of experience applying for a mid-level role, and you see a lot of promise in them, but you realize they'll need a higher level of training. And maybe you'll get another applicant with 10 years of experience applying for the same role, and you know they're solid and will need very little ramp-up time or hand-holding. So it makes perfect sense to offer the latter candidate more than the former candidate, even if you're willing to hire them both. (And chances are, the latter candidate will expect more than the former candidate.)